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Illicit vs Complicit - What's the difference?

illicit | complicit |

As adjectives the difference between illicit and complicit

is that illicit is not approved by law, but not invalid while complicit is associated with or participating in an activity, especially one of a questionable nature.

illicit

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • (legal) Not approved by law, but not invalid.
    • The bigamous marriage, while illicit, was not invalid.
  • * {{quote-book
    • , date = 2008-01-08 , title = Memo to the President Elect: How We Can Restore America's Reputation and Leadership , first = Madeleine , last = Albright , authorlink = Madeleine Albright , location = New York , publisher = HarperCollins , isbn = 9780061351808 , ol = 9952500M , page = 225 , passage = Such migrants may violate our laws against illicit entry, but if that's all they do then they are trespassers, not criminals. }}
  • Breaking social norms.
  • * {{quote-book
    • , year = 1993 , title = Diaries: In Power 1983-1992 , first = Alan , last = Clark , authorlink = Alan Clark , location = London , publisher = Weidenfeld and Nicholson , isbn = 0297813528 , ol = 1046930M , passage = I only can properly enjoy carol services if I am having an illicit affair with someone in the congregation. }}
  • Unlawful.
  • * {{quote-book
    • , date = 2010-07-29 , title = (The Dervish House) , first = Ian , last = McDonald , authorlink = Ian McDonald (British author) , isbn = 9780575089044 , ol = 25418126M , url = http://books.google.com/books?id=-rgZys-M4q4C&pg=PT328&dq=illicit , passage = Ay?e Erkoç learned long ago that the secret of doing anything illicit in Istanbul is to do it in full public gaze in the clear light of day. No one ever questions the legitimacy of the blatant. }}

    Usage notes

    Licit and valid are legal terms to be compared, especially in terms of canon law. With bigamy, if there is an innocent party, the innocent party is validly married; the problem is with the guilty party, who has entered into an illegal second marriage without first divorcing the earlier spouse. The marriage is valid in canon law (and often, civil law), but the guilty party goes to jail nonetheless, in that the marriage is illicit (and illegal), and the innocent party routinely receives a fast annulment and the full sympathy of the court. A corollary is that the children born of such unions are inherently legitimate.

    Synonyms

    * criminal * illegal * illegitimate * prohibited * unlawful

    complicit

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Associated with or participating in an activity, especially one of a questionable nature.
  • * 1861 , Henry M. Wheeler, The Slaves' Champion , p. 203,
    • It [slavery] has set the seal of a complicit , guilty silence upon the most orthodox pulpits and the saintliest tongues,
  • * 1973 , , As If by Magic , Secker and Warburg, p. 177:
    • "I confess," and the Englishman turned with a near complicit grin to Hamo, "I have certain vulgar tastes myself."
  • * 2005 , Larry Dennsion, " Letters," Time , 7 March:
    • Khan's sale of nuclear secrets and a complicit Pakistani government have made the world a ticking time bomb.

    Synonyms

    * complicitous

    Derived terms

    * complicitly

    Related terms

    * complicity

    References

    * * Oxford English Dictionary , 2nd ed., 1989.